STUDENTS and lecturers have backed an appeal aimed at rescuing young people from the desperate world of drugs and vice.

STUDENTS and lecturers have backed an appeal aimed at rescuing young people from the desperate world of drugs and vice.

The Evening Star's Somebody's Daughter memorial fund, which has been granted registered charity status, is today £400 better off thanks to the fundraising efforts of Suffolk College.

The cash will be added to the spiralling fund pot which will be used to pay for a refuge where sex workers and drug addicts can receive care and support.

The fund was launched in conjunction with Ipswich Borough Council in the wake of the killings of five women in December.

The bodies of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, were found in rural locations outside Ipswich. All had a drug dependency and all worked in Ipswich's red-light district.

The new registered charity status means appeal supporters can increase the value of their donation by taking advantage of the gift aid scheme which allows charities to reclaim the tax on the donation.

The Somebody's Daughter registered charity number is 1117870.

Donations to the memorial fund can be made online at www.eveningstar.co.uk, in person at Ipswich Borough Council's customer service centre in the Town Hall, by calling 01473 433777, or by sending a cheque, made payable to Somebody's Daughter Memorial Fund, to PO Box 772, Ipswich Borough Council, Grafton House, 15-17 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DE.

Promotional posters and fundraising buckets are available by contacting reporter Josh Warwick on 01473 324840 or by e-mailing josh.warwick@eveningstar.co.uk